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Whiting, with Shrimps
Take three whiting, clean and skin them, divide them into fillets by cutting down the fish on each side from head to tail, and taking the flesh off close to the bones; each is to be again divided, giving twelve pieces. Season with salt and cayenne, brush over with warm butter, and roll up. Let them lie close together on a tin, with a little white wine and a glass of French vinegar. Boil the bones down for stock, strain it, and add a little of it to the fish; then cover with buttered paper, and bake for ten to twelve minutes in a good oven. Dish the fish, add the rest of the stock to the gravy in the tin, put in a tea-spoonful of brown roux, and boil up. Season to taste, then stir in a pint of freshly-shelled shrimps. When hot through, pour the sauce into the centre of the dish, the whiting forming an outer circle.
A Victorian fish course of rolled whiting fillets baked briefly in wine and their own stock, with a shrimp sauce poured into the ring. The whole thing hinges on not overcooking either the fish or the shrimps.
- Substituting the fishWhiting in the British sense is a small, delicate member of the cod family, sold whole or in thin fillets. Any lean white fish of similar thickness works — haddock, pollock, hake, or the American whiting (silver hake). Six small fillets, halved crosswise, give the twelve pieces called for.
- "A good oven"An imprecise direction; something in the region of 400-425F is a reasonable modern reading. The fillets are thin, rolled and covered, so ten to twelve minutes is plausible; test at eight. Fish is done when it turns opaque and the roll just yields.
- The shrimpsA pint of freshly-shelled shrimps means the small brown or pink shrimp sold already boiled; a pint measure of them, shelled, is somewhere in the region of 8-12 oz. They are added only to heat through -- thirty seconds to a minute in the hot sauce. Anything longer and they toughen. If using raw shrimp, cook them separately and briefly before folding in.
- Brown rouxEqual weights butter and flour cooked together until nut-brown, kept on hand in Victorian kitchens as a thickener. A teaspoonful of it will barely thicken the pan liquid; make a tablespoon of roux and add it gradually until the sauce coats a spoon.
- "A glass of French vinegar"An imprecise measure; a wineglassful is usually reckoned at about 2 fl oz, and even that would be assertive against three whiting. A tablespoon or two of white wine vinegar is nearer the intent; the acid is there to season and firm the flesh, not to dominate.
- The bone stockSimmer the heads and frames with a little onion, parsley stalk and water for around 20 minutes; long boiling is generally held to make fish stock bitter and gluey. Strain well; you want about a cup -- the recipe puts only a little of it in with the fish and the rest into the sauce.
- Buttered paperA round of parchment brushed with butter, laid directly on the fish. It keeps the tops from drying without steaming them as foil would. Cut it to fit the tin.
- YieldTwelve small rolls serve four as a first course, or two to three as a light main with bread. Arrange the rolls seam-side down so they hold their shape.
Whiting was one of the cheapest and most abundant fish on the Victorian London market, landed in quantity and considered light enough for invalids and children — Victorian cookery books print many recipes for it, usually curled with the tail in its mouth and fried, or filleted as here. The pairing with shrimps reflects the same coastal economy: small brown shrimps, potted or sold by the pint already boiled, were a cheap English staple and their sauce was often served with plain white fish. The presentation — fish in an outer circle, sauce poured into the middle — is generally associated with the late nineteenth-century fashion for dishes that came to the table already composed rather than carved in front of the diners, and where a cook was expected to make a shilling's worth of fish look like a designed course.